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Acer Taps Intel Skylake for Refreshed Windows 10-Powered Device Slate

The company's holiday lineup includes new high-performance notebooks and a twisty convertible running Windows 10 on Intel's just-released processors.

A day after Intel officially rolled out a full portfolio based on Skylake, the company's sixth-generation, 14-nanometer Core processing technology, Acer is showcasing some of the Windows 10 hardware based on the new chips at the IFA tradeshow in Berlin.

Available in the United States in October ($899 to start), the new systems include the Aspire R 13 (pictured), an 18.5 mm-thick convertible notebook that features the company's Ezel Aero Hinge design. Users can flip and twist the screen into six modes, including classic laptop, tablet and an easel-like configuration for drawing or taking notes with an Acer Active Pen.

In addition to packing Intel Skylake processors, the Aspire R 13 includes Thunderbolt 3 support. Outfitted with two solid-state drives (SSDs) in a RAID-0 configuration, the portable device can deliver snappier performance by doubling the data throughput rate. In terms of wireless performance, buyers can expect the R 13 to slice through crowded airwaves.

WiFi connectivity on the Aspire R 13 is enhanced with Qualcomm's EFX MU-MIMO technology. In addition to maintaining a rock-solid connection on busy networks, it delivers download speeds that are three times faster compared with competing 802.11 ac technologies, the company claims.

Further reading

The company's Aspire V Nitro Series notebooks have also been refreshed in the wake of the arrival of Windows 10 and Skylake. The 15- and 17-inch notebooks feature a slot-antenna design for 360-degree wireless coverage, Nvidia GeForce graphics subsystems and support for up to 32GB of DDR4 memory. Black Edition models offer a spec bump to high-performance GeForce GTX960M mobile graphics, up to 4GB GDDR5 RAM dedicated to graphics and PCIe SSDs.

Prices start at $999 for the 15-inch Aspire V and $1,099 for the 17-inch version when they go on sale in October in the United States. A sleek 13-inch Aspire V featuring Intel HD graphics, up to 16GB DDR3L (low voltage) memory and two color choices (black or white) will also be available in the United States in October with a starting price of $599.

For gamers, the company showed off two new Predator notebooks. Both the 15.6- and 17-inch versions house an Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor. Options include feature Nvidia GeForce GTX980 graphics, a maximum of 32GB of DDR4 memory and a 512GB PCIe SSD. A 4K Ultra HD (3,840 pixels by 2,160 pixels) display panel is available on the 15.6-inch Predator notebook.

Acer also offered a peek at some of the first Windows 10 phones, the 4.5-inch Liquid M330 and M320. Billed as entry-level smartphones, the handsets are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 and MSM 8209 processors, respectively, and run Windows 10 Mobile.

Finally, the Taiwanese PC maker took the wraps off the Revo Build Series Mini PC. The modular system enables buyers to upgrade or enhance their PCs by swapping out processing, storage and even audio "Blocks." The first of the Revo systems (M1-601) will ship in the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region next month.